1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to portable support structures for use in temporary fixtures such as trade shows and conventions, and particularly to a portable folding truss system having hinged side elements.
2. Description of Related Art
Commercial displays such as those used in trade show booths require strong structures that can be easily transported and configurable in a wide variety of forms. Such structures need to be lightweight, portable, and able to be quickly set up and broken down.
Prior art solutions have utilized truss members with folding elements that utilize rigid wall members coupled with rotatable wall members. The rotatable side members allow the truss to collapse. The trusses include internal diagonal pivoting members that serve to lock the truss into an open position. Although useful in some applications, this approach has deficiencies.
Using differently designed rigid and rotatable wall members as in prior art solutions increases the inventory of piece parts needed to build the truss, thereby making the truss more complicated and expensive to manufacture. Also, the non-symmetry of the assembled structure (due to the non-rigidity of the rotatable wall members) gives such a truss non-uniform load bearing characteristics when deployed horizontally. Therefore, if the user is not careful and/or cognizant of the requirement for a certain orientation, a structure according to the prior art design might be deployed in an unsafe manner with potentially catastrophic results.
It can be seen that there is a need for a collapsible/foldable truss member that is strong, easily fabricated and assembled into a temporary or permanent structure for a commercial display or other structural application. Further, a truss member that can be configured to provide horizontal support regardless of the truss member's orientation is also needed. The present invention fulfills these and other needs, and addresses other deficiencies of prior art implementations.